Bob Mould

Bob Mould

Bob Mould is an American alternative rock and rock musician from Malone, United States, born in 1960. He is known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, particularly for his work in Hüsker Dü and Sugar. He is openly gay.

Career

Mould grows up in several places, including Pine City, Minnesota and the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and attends Macalester College. There he forms Hüsker Dü in the late 1970s with drummer and singer Grant Hart and bass player Greg Norton. Hüsker Dü becomes one of the key American rock bands of the 1980s, and Mould later moves into solo work after the group splits.

His first solo album, Workbook, appears in 1989 and shifts away from the dense guitar sound associated with Hüsker Dü, using a more stripped-down arrangement with acoustic guitars and cellos. Black Sheets of Rain follows in 1991 and returns to a louder, heavier style. He later starts the record label Singles Only Label, which releases singles by bands including Grant Lee Buffalo.

Mould then forms Sugar, a band that becomes a favourite on college and alternative radio in the mid-1990s. Sugar releases two albums, an EP and a B-sides collection before splitting. After that, he resumes solo recording with the album Bob Mould in 1996, which is often called Hubcap because of its cover image, and The Last Dog and Pony Show in 1998.

In the late 1990s, while living in New York City, Mould develops an interest in dance music and electronica. That influence shapes Modulate in 2002, which leans strongly towards electronica and receives mixed critical response. He also records under the pseudonym LoudBomb, an anagram of his name, and releases one CD under that name.

Mould spends much of the 1990s touring solo with acoustic versions of his songs, sometimes switching to electric guitar during performances. In 2005 he releases Body of Song, and that same period includes his first band tour since 1998. Brendan Canty and Richard Morel play drums and keyboards on that tour. He later releases District Line in 2008, and then albums including Silver Age, Beauty & Ruin, Patch the Sky and Sunshine Rock.

Other projects and work

Mould performs as a live DJ with Washington, D.C.-area dance music artist Richard Morel under the name Blowoff. A recording under that banner is released in 2006. He also works as a remixer for a range of dance and alternative rock artists, including a remix of Interpol’s “Length Of Love”.

He briefly works for WCW as a scriptwriter before returning to music. Mould also contributes to film and television music: “Dog on Fire” becomes the theme for The Daily Show, “See a Little Light” is used in several television contexts, and he composes the theme for In a Fix. He appears on The Henry Rollins Show in 2007, plays lead guitar in the house band for the film version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and contributes a cover of “Nailed” to the tribute album Wig in a Box.

Producing and labels

Alongside his own recording career, Mould produces albums for artists including Soul Asylum, Articles of Faith, Magnapop, Verbow, The Zulus, Impaler and Low. His solo releases appear on labels including Virgin, Rykodisc, Yep Roc, Edsel, Merge Records, Granary Music and Singles Only Label.

Selected solo discography

Workbook (1989), Black Sheets of Rain (1991), Bob Mould / Hubcap (1996), The Last Dog and Pony Show (1998), Modulate (2002), Body of Song (2005), District Line (2008), Silver Age (2012), Beauty & Ruin (2014), Patch the Sky (2016) and Sunshine Rock (2019).